1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of fluid sample acquisition and testing. In particular, the invention is directed to a test strip having features that facilitate transport of a blood sample obtained from a person's body to a measurement site on the strip.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical and diagnostic field, and particularly in the field of diabetes care, it is often desirable to perform testing on a fluid sample, such as a blood sample, collected on a test strip. The trend is to collect and test smaller fluid samples, including sub-microliter samples (i.e., samples having a volume of 1 μL or less). In this context, it is desirable to be able to direct a fluid sample collected on a test strip to a measurement site on the strip, and to ensure that enough of the sample is available to perform the required testing of the sample.
It would be desirable in this context to have means to direct the fluid sample to the measurement site, ensuring sufficient sample to perform a measurement, without requiring involvement by the user.
In application Ser. No. 12/502,594, filed concurrently herewith, a device has been proposed in which a strip having a bending portion is positioned opposite a fluid sample collected from a user's body. The bending motion leverages adherence and transport dynamics of the fluid sample on the strip to ensure that sufficient sample reaches the measurement site from a given minimum sample volume. It would be desirable in this context to have a strip that facilitates movement of a fluid droplet to the measurement site after the fluid has been contacted by a rolling bend portion of a strip to a measurement site on the strip.